Vitality 2023 Week 1

On a gray Friday in January 2007, during the peak of the early morning commuter rush, an unassuming young man entered the L'Enfant Plaza train station in Washington D.C.

As the crowds rushed by, the man found a place to stand out of the way of the foot traffic. He opened the violin case he carried. He threw into the case a few coins and dollar bills to "prime the pump." And then he proceeded to begin playing.

But this was no ordinary street musician. The anonymous violinist in the train station was Joshua Bell, renowned virtuoso, star of the symphony circuit. Only three days earlier audiences had shelled out between 100.00 to 200.00 bucks for a ticket to watch him play at Boston's Symphony Hall. Now, as he stood just a few feet from clueless commuters hurrying to work, Bell played his heart out on his multi-million dollar 1713 Stradivarius violin.

Bell began with "Chaconne," from Bach's Partita No. 2 in D Minor. Bell calls this a "spiritually powerful piece, emotionally powerful, structurally perfect." By the way, "Chaconne" is also considered one of the most difficult violin solos ever written.

Can you guess what happened? Did busy commuters suddenly stop in their tracks, mesmerized by this master violinist, and drift towards the magical music?

Not so much. For the first three minutes of Bell's "concert" no one passing by acknowledged anything. Not the music. Not the musician. Nothing. Nada. Everyone hurried by, head down, fixated on their next destination. (VIDEO)

At four minutes one woman hurriedly tossed a dollar into Bell's open violin case. Finally, after six minutes, one commuter stopped, leaned against a wall, and listened to the gift that was being poured out into that train station air.

Bell played for 43 minutes. He made a grand total of $52.17 off of 27 donations. (One $20 bill was from someone who recognized him). Two people stopped to listen. The other 1,070 people who passed in front of him simply skittered by, oblivious, obsessed by their own agendas.

An author named John Lake succinctly summed up what this missed moment revealed about all those busy commuters, and what it reveals about us: [SLIDE]

"If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that, then what else are we missing!"

Listen to that thought again: "If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that, then what else are we missing!"

What else indeed.

I wonder if you resonate with that question.

What are we missing?

What opportunities to experience something amazing…even miraculous…are in our midst, but we just…miss them?

And let’s look at that question specifically as a church…as Gilfillan Memorial Church.

What opportunities does God have for us as a congregation, and what is required of us to make sure we don’t walk right past without seeing them?

Those kinds of questions sit at the heart of a journey we’re going to be taking together starting today.

(INTRO CONGREGATIONAL VITALITY: SLIDES sermon series, survey, conversations, prayer)

But as we get ready to dive in to the vitality journey, I’m going to ask you to do a little mental time travel.

I want you to jump ahead in your minds a few months or maybe even a year or even more, and think about a church like ours that has been intentionally focusing and thinking and talking and praying about becoming a healthier, more missionally-minded congregation.

And here’s a question for you:

What do you hope would be the fruit of that journey?

What do you hope would come out of it?

Think of one or two things, and then hold on to those in your mind and let’s revisit that question in the sermon.

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I love this passage we just heard from Ephesians.

Here’s the Apostle Paul...on his knees basically as he's writing this letter.

He's writing...but he's praying as he's writing. Not just praying to God, pleading with God on behalf of these people so precious to him.

If you’re familiar with Ephesians, you know this is a church that Paul is intimately connected with…he spent over 2 years there preaching and teaching…and now he writes to them from prison with words of great affection and concern for their spiritual well-being.

He says he “never stops” giving thanks for them, and that he is always remembering them in prayer.

And I know I’m not the only pastor who resonates with those words.

It’s easy for all of us, when we think about our church and our church family, to immediately jump into the “busy mode” and start thinking about all the stuff that needs to happen, all the stuff that needs to get done.

What a good reminder from Paul that our first response when it comes to God’s people is simply gratitude for having them in our life, and committing ourselves to praying for them.

And listen to what Paul is praying for them: [SLIDE]

Verse 17:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

What a great thing to ask for.

Of all the things Paul could be praying for the Ephesians...he focuses on what is supremely important to him: to know God better.

It's a theme you find often in Paul’s letters.

Like in Philippians 3…

….where Paul says he considers everything in his life: every accomplishment, every accolade, every diploma and certificate...everything.

He says he considers it rubbish (!) for the sake of what?

The "surpassing greatness" of knowing Christ.

That was Paul's greatest priority, and so he prays that for the Ephesians:

He prays for the Spirit to draw them closer to Jesus so they might know him better.

Earlier I asked you to think about what kinds of things we might hope for as the fruit of going on an intentional journey of church vitality.

What would be the desired outcome?

If you asked a hundred church-going folks around the world that question, I know there are some answers you’d hear a lot:

“I hope our church grows. Doubles in size. Triples in size.”

“I hope we develop a thriving ministry to young people and children.”

“I hope our impact in our community deepens.”

All of those are good answers. And all of those are things we like to see in our churches.

But are they central thing?

What lies at the heart of church vitality?

I think Paul would say it’s this “surpassing greatness” of knowing Jesus.

That’s why he makes it the heart of his prayer.

Specifically he prays that the Ephsians might receive the Spirit of "wisdom and revelation."

And that's important.

Because knowledge of God is impossible without revelation.

Let me say that again...knowledge of God is impossible without revelation.

Sure you can learn about God all you want.

But there's a big difference between knowing about God...and knowing God.

Let's be honest...there are a lot of folks sitting in a lot of seats and pews around the world this morning who know a lot about God and Jesus and the Scriptures.

They could win Bible trivia games right and left with what they know.

But their lives are missing authentic fellowship with Him, the kind that Paul holds as paramount, as the highest priority.

And that kind of fellowship, that knowledge of God, is not something that comes as a result of our effort.

It is revealed by God to us as we open ourselves to Him.

It’s a work of the Holy Spirit.

And there’s an important truth there many Christians fail to grasp.

The things we do in pursuit of growing as Christians: things like Bible study, small groups, classes and seminars and conferences...even worship services, and yes...even sermons.

...apart from God's Spirit they're just empty exercises.

They have no power in themselves to draw us closer to God.

Knowledge of God is impossible without the revealing work of the Spirit.

That's why Paul prays constantly for the Ephesians...that God would give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation…so that they would know him better.

And Paul uses a wonderful phrase to describe that work. [SLIDE]

Verse 18:

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.

The eyes of your heart.

Just as we sang earlier: “Open the eyes of my heart.”

What does that mean for you?

In our culture today when we use the word "heart" we tend to think of emotions.

The heart is full when we're in love, it's broken when love fails us, our heart goes out to those in need and difficulty.

It's about how we feel.

But heart had a different meaning back when Paul was writing this letter.

It wasn't just about feelings...it was the whole inner self: emotions...understanding...intellect...everything.

Paul is praying that this knowledge of God, this personal, relational knowledge, would fill every nook and cranny of their lives.

That, to me, is the first and foremost hope of any programme or journey we might undertake that has church vitality as its goal.

Because the vitality…the health…of our church is directly related to the health of our relationship…each and every one of us…with God.

And the more we experience that personal knowledge of God…the more fruit we bear as Christians and as a church.

Fruit that is desperately needed in our world right now.

Listen again to what Paul says happens as we grow in our personal relationship with God:

[SLIDE EMPHASIS]

He says, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

That's what's being offered to you and to me in this revealed, enlightened relationship with God:

Hope...couldn't our world use a little hope right now?

Riches...not earthly riches…but the inheritance of God promised in his kingdom yet to come.

Power...again, not earthly power…but the power to live the life God calls you to live.

And listen carefully to what Paul says about this power: [SLIDE: ADD]

“That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…”

WHOA. LET THAT SINK IN.

The power that God desires you to know in your life is the SAME POWER that raised Jesus from the dead.

Think what our lives would be like, think what our church would be like…

…if we truly grasped that.

Hope...riches of God...the very power of the resurrection living within us.

That's a pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

But it's like this:

It's like God is standing there, offering these amazing gifts to us, and we're just too busy to notice.

Like the commuters in Washington, D.C.—we’re missing something amazing happening in our midst.

We've got our own agenda and plan, even when it comes to God, and we're deaf and blind to what is right in front of us.

I like how one preacher put it.

He said here's God offering us enlightenment, inviting us to come into the light and receive all he has for us,

But rather than open our eyes to the light, we think our task is to figure out how to see better in the dark. We buy night-vision goggles, take courses in seeing in the dark, we develop products to help us cope with darkness...We think it's our permanent condition, and there is nothing we can do about it.

Friends…that is a lie.

Staight up...plain and simple.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is offered to us…think about what that means for our lives.

For our church.

Friends…it would be easy to look at the issues that we face as a church…it would be easy to look at the issues the church as a whole faces in our world…

…and let’s be honest…it’s easy to look at the issues you and I face in our own lives…

…and feel completely overwhelmed and anxious about it.

When we are honest about our world, our culture, and our own struggles right now…let’s be honest and admit that sometimes we just feel like throwing up our hands and saying:

“It’s too big, Lord. It’s too much. I don’t see how in the world I can deal with this.”

The key phrase there is “in the world.”

Because whatever needs to happen in our lives and in our church…

…there is no way in the world it’s going to happen.

It’s only in the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead working in us and through us that it’s going to happen.

You know…those words, “It’s too big. It’s too much.”

They were spoken long ago by some women walking to a tomb on a Sunday morning, as they thought about the stone covering the entrance.

But when they got there…the stone was rolled away.

The power of God had raised Jesus from the dead!

And here’s Paul saying…that same power is in us as we grow in our relationship with God!

That is the perfect word for us as we start a journey of congregational vitality together.

Because let’s be honest…in today’s secular, skeptical culture…it’s hard to think about the church’s future.

And it’s easy to become resigned and cynical.

Look at all the churches that are closing in this country alone.

It’s frightening.

But friends…the antidote to that fear is right here in Paul’s words.

Wisdom…revelation…enlightenment…hope…and the power of the risen Christ.

And when he mentions the risen and ascended Jesus, Paul finishes our passage with these words:

(SLIDE)

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

That final phrase, “the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” has caused a lot of Bible scholars through the centuries to scratch their heads.

But here’s the way I read it.

The church, the body Christ, is meant to be the full expression of who he is.

The church is meant to be the place where people come face-to-face with Jesus in all the fullness of what that means.

But…that can only happen as the church itself is filled with the knowledge and presence of Jesus.

That’s the heart of our vitality journey, friends.

Over the next few weeks we are going to dive deep into what that means for our faith, for our formation, and for our mission.

It’s my belief that in the coming months God is going to be playing some beautiful music in our midst, calling us to stop and listen and soak in the joy and the wonder of who he is.

Let’s pray that we don’t miss a single moment of what God has for us.

Let’s pray together.